‘Pocket City 2’ – TouchArcade
It’s arduous to consider however we’re only a few months away from the 5-year anniversary of Codebrew Video games aka developer Bobby Li launching the unique Pocket Metropolis within the App Retailer. A full premium city-building sim is one thing that was severely missing on cellular through the years, and that authentic Pocket Metropolis delivered the products with an exquisite touchscreen interface, beautiful visuals, and satisfying metropolis constructing. And no micro-transactions in sight! There was a cause we selected it as our Sport of the Week and awarded it 5 stars in our assessment when it got here out, and since that point the unique Pocket Metropolis remains to be just about the one critical possibility for these wanting a premium metropolis builder on cellular.
Simply because there’s no actual competitors in that house doesn’t imply that Codebrew have been resting on their laurels although. Within the fall of 2020 a sequel was introduced, and this time across the complete sport can be in-built 3D. I used to be excited by the announcement, however to be sincere Pocket Metropolis 2 slipped from my thoughts within the time since, so I used to be particularly taken off guard when a brand new trailer was launched final month and revealed simply what was in retailer for this 3D sequel. The isometric city-building of the primary sport was retained, however like a magic trick, at any second you could possibly zoom proper into the town you had been constructing to disclose a 3D open world mode the place you because the City Mayor may roam round partaking in actions or finishing missions.
To say that this characteristic blew my thoughts can be an understatement. I’d been enjoying open world video games for greater than twenty years, and enjoying metropolis builders for nearer to a few, and it by no means occurred to me how superior it will be to design and construct your individual metropolis AND THEN really discover the complete factor on foot or by automobile. This is sort of a peanut butter and chocolate second that was simply begging to be explored, and so now we have now that on cellular with the discharge of Pocket Metropolis 2 this week. I suppose the massive query is does this skill to roam your individual metropolis open world-style add something to the expertise, or is it only a fairly gimmick?
On the threat of teasing, I believe I’ll let that query be answered by our pal Mikhail in his full assessment of Pocket Metropolis 2, coming to your eyeballs quickly. What I’ll say although is that the open world characteristic may be as a lot of the sport as you need it to be, which means it’s completely potential to only ignore it altogether if you need and simply play by Pocket Metropolis 2 like a standard isometric metropolis builder. The truth is that’s just about how I play about 80% of the time, principally as a result of there’s simply a lot to be constructing and managing and monitoring that I don’t actually have time to consider “Oh I’m going to go shoot hoops on the park I simply constructed!” or “Oh I’m going to go cease some random muggings on the road!” I like that these choices are there, and I believe as soon as I get additional into my metropolis the place it doesn’t want a lot micromanaging I’ll in all probability discover them extra.
For now although, Pocket Metropolis 2 is precisely what followers of the unique sport may hope for. It’s larger and higher in just about each means simply on its city-building mechanics, with the additional open world stuff being like icing on the cake. That is perhaps not essentially the most in-depth metropolis builder relating to technique, but it surely makes up for it in sheer enjoyable and approachability. You’ll be able to nonetheless change between panorama or portrait on the fly, and Pocket Metropolis 2 retains that great high quality from the unique the place it’s straightforward to play for only a few moments at a time or for lengthy stretches. A whole lot of sim video games wouldn’t have that form of choose up and play nature but it surely works completely for Pocket Metropolis 2 as a cellular sport.
In case you loved the unique, I believe it’s a no brainer to select up this sequel. It appears to date to be higher in each means. In case you missed out on the primary sport, it’s secure to only skip it I believe and dive proper into Pocket Metropolis 2 as an alternative. For a mere 5 {dollars} you might be getting a variety of sport right here, and I believe there’ll nonetheless be no actual contenders to take its crown as the most effective premium cellular metropolis builder till the inevitable Pocket Metropolis 3 comes alongside sometime sooner or later. Additionally, for much more perception about Pocket Metropolis 2 and its improvement, be sure you take a look at our interview with Codebrew Video games from earlier this week and maintain your eye out for our assessment of the sport quickly.
